


somewhere in the crowd

by LJF



Series: we all want love/we all want honor [9]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Colonialism, Colonization, Earth Kingdom (Avatar), Earth Rumble, Earthbending & Earthbenders, Gen, POV Toph Beifong, Part 1, Toph Alone, Toph Beifong Being Awesome, Toph Beifong Has A Heart, Toph Beifong-centric, Yu Dao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:26:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26740603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LJF/pseuds/LJF
Summary: Instead of going to the North Pole, Toph had herownadventure. She wasToph Beifong, she didn'tneedanyone.(And no, she wasn't lonely. Shewasn't.)
Relationships: Toph Beifong & Kori Morishita, Toph Beifong & Zuko
Series: we all want love/we all want honor [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1936222
Comments: 16
Kudos: 266





	somewhere in the crowd

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, I know Toph _seems_ like she's more in touch with her emotions in this series than she does in canon, but that's when you're comparing her to _Zuko_. Here, where she's on her own, _her_ tsundere side comes into play.  
> And yes, she's great at getting _other_ people. From a vantage point of objectivity, reading the emotions of others can be simple. Understanding your _own_ is what's hard. (No, of course I'm not speaking from experience, why would you think that?)
> 
> Also, since this story is alternate canon, I may not have things play out exactly the way the did in the comics (which is still _waaaaaaaay_ in the future), but I _am_ treating them like canon. Which means the Yu Dao Toph encounters here is pretty much the one shown in "The Promise," Ursa is still in the same place she was in "The Search," etc. For those of you who _haven't_ read the comics, don't worry, there's nothing here that requires knowledge of them to understand, I just relied on some of their worldbuilding.  
> (And no, I still haven't decided if I'm _also_ drawing on the comics for _Between the Emotion and the Response_. I'm _leaning_ towards yes, but I have certain things I can't seem to make work, so we'll see. But, again, that's all _way_ in the future.)
> 
> In this chapter, I talk a lot about bending, particularly earthbending, in both practice and theory. Most of it is based on my own extrapolation, combining what we heard from Bumi and Iroh, what we know about Toph and the badgermoles, and what Zuko and the Sun Warriors discuss regarding _firebending_. Like my use of the term "liegelord" in part one in reference to Toph's father, this (like many other things in this series) is _not_ canon, just my own little headcanon based on what we _do_ know from canon. If you want to borrow these (or any other stuff I use in this series) for your own fanfiction, go ahead (and hit me up, so I can check it out)!
> 
> And look at that, it's our first chapter since _we all bend and break sometimes_ that _doesn't_ follow the general guidelines of an episode of the show. Is that a good thing? I don't know, you decide.

_"Only you know the strength of your teeth."_

_\- Zedd & Elley Duhé, "Happy Now"_

Making it to Yu Dao was the easy part. Toph may not have spent much time _completely_ on her own, but she'd spent _years_ with Zuko, searching the _strangest_ places. She _knew_ how to travel incognito. She made it to Yu Dao in less than two days, and she used some of the money that Uncle had given her (she didn't know _where_ he'd managed to get it from, considering that all of their stuff had _blown up_ ) to rent a room under the name "Lin Yu Hong."

And then she started exploring.

Toph had never been to Yu Dao before. Zuko hadn't bothered spending much time in the colonies, assuming (rightfully so) that the Avatar wouldn't be hiding in Fire Nation lands. She'd _heard_ about it, of course; her tutors in the Fire Nation had been _very_ thorough, but nothing could have prepared her for the absolute _foreignness_ of the place. Toph knew the Fire Nation. She knew the Earth Kingdom. What she _didn't_ know was the two of them _together_.

"Are you new to town?" The cheerful, almost perky voice belonged to a girl who was probably only a year or two older than Toph.

"Yeah, I'm just hanging out a bit-- I'm supposed to meet some friends, but I'm about a month too early," Toph explained. She studied the girl's rooted stance. _An earthbender_ , she decided. "I'm Lin Yu." _Can she tell I'm lying?_ (Highly unlikely. Truthseers were rare, and highly valued by the Fire Nation. If the girl _were_ a truthseer, she'd be hiding in Ba Sing Se, not walking around a Fire Nation colony like she owned the place.)

"Nice to meet you, Lin Yu," the older girl said. "I'm Kori!" _She hasn't realized I'm blind._ Toph wondered how long _that_ would take, some people were _really_ slow.

"Do you live here?" Toph asked, still trying to take in a _dazzling_ amount of information from the town around her. There was a blacksmith shop, where firebenders and earthbenders were working _together_. (She'd _heard_ that Yu Dao had the best metalworkers in the world, but she hadn't realized _why_ until just now.) There were training grounds with both types of benders training _together_. Everywhere she listened, people of fire and earth were interacting, completely _normally_.

It was so _weird_.

"Yeah, I was born here," Kori was saying. "My father's actually the mayor, so I guess you could consider me the welcoming committee!"

"Wait, your _father_ is the mayor? Aren't you an earthbender?" Integrated as this place might be, there was still a clear social hierarchy going on. The earthbenders were _not_ on top.

"You can tell that?" Kori seemed confused. "But yeah, so what? My dad's Fire Nation, I got the bending from Mom's side."

" _What?_ "

"Oh, right, I forgot people outside the colonies don't really intermarry, but it's pretty common here," Kori explained. "I guess you've never met a mixed couple before?"

"I actually have, I guess," Toph said. ( _Best stick to the truth, so you don't have to remember anything later._ ) "My, uh, _boyfriend_ is a firebender." ( _Boyfriend_ was easier to explain than _betrothed_. Or _intended_. Yick, why weren't there any better words?)

"Really?" Kori sounded surprised. "Cool. Aren't you a little young for a boyfriend?" _You have no idea._

"I'll be fifteen in a few months," Toph said, scowling. (Spirits _curse_ her tiny form!) "Besides, we grew up together. Our families were..... friends, I guess."

"Where did you say you were from again?" Kori didn't _sound_ suspicious, merely curious.

"A little village on the edge of Hu Xin," Toph lied. "But it's a newer colony, not like..... _this_." She gestured at the town. Kori nodded.

"It can be a little overwhelming," she said. "Want me to show you around?"

"Well, I don't know how much you'll be able to _show_ me, but I certainly wouldn't mind a tour." They started walking.

"What are you..... _oh_." _There we go._ "I'm sorry, I didn't realize." Kori held out her arm, but Toph just shook her head.

"I can get around fine on my own, don't worry. I use earthbending to sense what's going on around me." Kori's pause said she didn't buy this, so Toph started pointing. "There's a couple of kids running around in that direction, and _that's_ a blacksmith's shop, and there's some really loud brat over there buying shoes, and there's an anthill behind _that_ training field, and-"

"Alright, alright, I believe you!" Kori raised her hands in protest. "In that case, you said you wanted the tour?"

This place was even _cooler_ than she'd thought.

Kori took her all over town, pointing out all the different shops and attractions.

(At one point, she identified a certain building as _Master Kunyo's training dojo_. Toph had a sudden flashback of Zuko, at one of their _tea parties_ , telling her about his Instructor Kunyo, and how he'd been shipped off to the colonies for annoying the ice princess. She wasn't sure it was the _same_ Kunyo, but she decided to avoid the place, just in case.) 

"-- and this is where they host the bending fights, and _that_ place makes the _best_ jook, and--"

"Hold on, what was that last one?" _Did she just say--_

"Jook? Do they not have that where you come from? I thought--"

"No, not _that_ ," Toph scoffed. "You mentioned something about a bending _fight_?"

"Yeah, it's like a fighting ring, but for benders," Kori explained. "They have all _kinds_ of match-ups. Earthbenders against firebenders, earthbenders against earthbenders, firebenders against firebenders-- you even get the occasional waterbender."

"Do they work in teams, or solo?" Toph decided to wait a little before getting excited.

"Both," the older girl said.

"Are all these guys professionals, or do we get an amateur night every once in a while?"

"Anyone can play," Kori said. "You just put down a down payment, and, if you win, you get to keep a portion of your winnings. My cousins and I have a standing weekly game against the Frogsquirrels."

"The _Frogsquirrels_?" Toph giggled. " _Please_ tell me you guys have a better name than _that_."

"Uh, we're the Crococats," Kori admitted sheepishly. Toph considered this,

"Acceptable. _Barely_ ," she said. "Now then, where do I sign up?"

"Wait, you..... want to join the Crococats?" Kori seemed hesitant.

"Nah. No offense, Chirpy, but I work best alone," Toph said. "I want to fight solo."

"Are you sure?" Kori was _definitely_ worried. She didn't even comment on the nickname. "I know you're a talented bender, but that doesn't necessarily translate to fighting......"

"Don't worry, I'm not some helpless little blind girl," Toph said, "I'll be fine....... though I'll probably need your help to sign the form or whatever."

This fighting ring was the _greatest thing ever_ , and signing up to fight was the _best decision she had ever made_. (Other than going into exile with Sparky. Or running away to meet the badgermoles. But those didn't really count.)

"The Blind Bandit" was an instant hit. The crowds _loved_ watching a tiny blind girl beating up all those big, strong earthbenders and angry, powerful firebenders. (Maybe her height wasn't _so_ bad.)

But somehow, it almost seemed _too_ easy. She'd spent _years_ training with _Zuko_ , she _knew_ firebenders. On the other hand, she hadn't really fought against too many earthbenders before. She hadn't expected them to be so _weak_.

(Even Kori, with that cool trick she did with those chains, wasn't a particularly tough opponent.)

None of them knew how to _listen_. How to _wait_. They all jumped in without thinking, throwing around rocks without considering _where_ they might land. It was _ridiculous_.

 _Earthbending isn't just a martial art, you know! It's meant to be an extension of your senses, not..... whatever_ this _is._

Did _no one_ train with badgermoles anymore?

 _This is_ wrong _. This is_ really _wrong._

She was the greatest earthbender in town, probably in the colonies, possibly in the entire _world_..... but she didn't _have_ to be.

_I'll find a way to fix this. Someday._

(In the meantime, beating people up was _really_ fun.)

A month passed. On the date they'd agreed to meet, she went to the restaurant Iroh told her to wait at.

They never showed.

Another week passed. And then another. And then she'd been in Yu Dao for _two whole months_. She'd gone to that stupid shop _every. Single. Day._ (Kori was right, they _did_ make the best jook.) But Sparky and Uncle never came.

She didn't miss them.

Of course she didn't.

It was just....... some days, she would stand in that arena, fist raised to the sky, crowds cheering loudly, and feel a twinge in her chest. One that said _none of these people really care about_ you _._ (Kori was nice, yes, but she didn't _know_ Toph. She didn't even know her real name.)

Which was why, as she walked out onto the playing field one day, and felt a single heart rate _spike_ in surprise, Toph smiled. _Is that......?_

It was a boy, probably about fifteen or sixteen years old. He was sitting up front, in the cheap seats. There were too many people, and it was too loud to be sure, but she _thought_ she recognized him.

She'd check later. Right now, she had a fight to win.

Afterwards, she ducked around the crowds milling outside, trying to trace the boy who'd seemed so familiar. Finally, Toph _sensed_ him, standing awkwardly at the edge of the crowd, seeming a little out of place. Those were _definitely_ his footsteps. She snuck up behind him, leaned against a wall, and crossed her arms.

"Fancy seeing you here," she said. His heart rate _spiked_ again (jeez, he startled easily) and he turned around and gasped.

"Lady Toph?"

_"In a foreign place, are you happy now?"_

_\- Zedd & Elley Duhé, "Happy Now"_

**Author's Note:**

> Toph is now convinced that she is _the greatest earthbender in the world._ Not because she's especially talented (which she is), but because nobody else _knows how to bend right_. Like the Fire Nation, her people have _distorted the ways of Earthbending_. Toph is the greatest earthbender the way Iroh is the greatest firebender-- she learnt from the original masters, in its unadulterated, _purest form_ (which isn't always about fighting), and has learned how to adapt it to outside influences _without affecting its roots_. Bumi's also pretty good with this.  
> I mean seriously, we get all that expo on how earthbending is about "neutral jing" and "waiting until the right moment to strike." And then _most_ of the earthbenders we see are these big brawny tough guys who like to throw rocks. Obviously, _something_ was lost here.  
> (And _of course_ Zuko and Toph had practice spars while in exile. They're _Zuko_ and _Toph_ , what did you expect?)
> 
> Originally, I was just going to have Toph leave town to go compete in Earth Rumbles. But then I remembered, _that's the beauty of Yu Dao_. Their culture is so _integrated_ , of _course_ they have some variation of the Earth Rumble involving _both_ forms of bending. Pro-bending was _totally_ invented in Yu Dao.
> 
> On last names: While research the Avatar-world's writing system, I discovered that the false documents Iroh and Zuko use to get into Ba Sing Se don't just have _first_ names ("Lee" and "Mushi"), they also have a _family_ name-- _Hong_.  
> Last names in ATLA are kind of interesting. The only primary character who has one is Toph. Even Zuko, a prince, and Mai and Ty Lee, who, according to my understanding, are _nobles_ , don't have them. But apparently two stray peasant refugees _do_.  
> Which tells me one thing-- last names are an _Earth Kingdom_ custom. This actually makes sense. The Earth Kingdom is far and away the biggest country, with the largest population, and they're more diverse than other countries. It stands to reason they would have some way to identify different people with the same name. (As a matter of fact, the only Fire Nation citizens we know who _do_ have last names are the Morishitas, who are, again, a _mixed_ family living in _the colonies_. Odds are, Morishita either took on his wife's name, or he _also_ has some Earth Kingdom heritage. Unless Yu Dao has adopted the idea of last names, which would also make sense.)  
> If you know anything about the origins of lasts names, you know that, in most countries, they were originally instituted by _governments_ as a way of keeping track of people. Most people didn't really care about them-- if you lived in a small village where everyone knew everyone else, what did you need to know their last names for? (Which is why we never actually see Zuko and Iroh introducing themselves as Lee and Mushi Hong-- nobody they meet on the road really cares. It's only for the official records that they actualy need them.)  
> Hong actually means "flood," which I thought was kind of funny. (In case you were wondering, "Lin Yu" is written with the characters 琳 and 玉, both of which mean "jade" (that's the same "Yu" as in "Yu Dao"). I just think gemstones-- jade in particular-- have such _interesting_ conotations for earthbending, and the Earth Kingdom in general. I _wanted_ to include a character for "jade," as in the flower, too (especially once I discovered that there's _also_ a white jade tile in pai sho), but I couldn't figure out what it was, anyone else know? (I was originally going to have her fake name be "Biyu," but I'm using that name for an earthbender in my reincarnation fic "The People They Once Were," and I didn't want anyone to get confused and think that _that_ Biyu is _Toph_ reincarnated. She's not.))
> 
> Yes, Toph _does_ call Azula "Ice Princess." Is that a problem? (I also inserted a bunch of little self-depricating references to the fact that I'm claiming that [this](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/46/Toph_Beifong.png) tiny person is _fourteen_. (Almost fifteen!) Deal with it.) (I had friends in high school who were that short. They were friggin' _adorable_.)
> 
> (One of Toph's lily-livers makes a brief appearance in this chapter. Did you spot them?)
> 
> Next time: Zuko has an encounter with Azula!
> 
> Come hit me up on [tumblr](https://ljf613.tumblr.com/)!


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